Shopping cart storage stations are provided in the parking lots of many shopping areas, and are used to store and control shopping carts so as to avoid damage to customer's vehicles and to the shopping cans themselves, as well as to prevent clogging of parking spaces and thoroughfares. Some conventional shopping cart storage stations are permanently installed in parking lots. As used herein, the term “permanently installed” refers to being secured to the ground. Examples of being secured to the ground include being secured to the ground using a fastener, or by being partially or fully potted or embedded in the ground. In areas of the country where snow is common, permanently installed cart storage stations may go unplowed, preventing customers from employing them. For this reason, some cart storage stations are intentionally left freestanding to permit easy relocation of the station. As used herein, the term “freestanding” refers to resting on a ground surface without being secured to the ground surface. Since a freestanding cart storage station is not secured to the ground, it is subject to movement by shifting weather patterns or accidental collisions.